18th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA | Great Divide Brewing Company

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

Reviews by crossovert:

Aged IPAs are always toss-ups. Either the brewer accounted for the loss of hop bitterness and aroma or they didn't.

This one pours a deep red with a creamy but foamy slightly off-white head that leaves a bit of lacing.

The smell is alcoholic and fruity. There is a bit of oak , caramel, and some English hop notes.

The flavor is nearly cloyingly sweet, medium to mild bitterness that increases. Some decent hoppy flavors with some grassiness, pine, and candied citrus. A bit of oak in the flavor but not too much. Some tannins.

Overall it is what I feared, just a mundane sort of brew that is bereft of its freshness.

More User Reviews:

Poured into an imperial nonic a brilliant clear copper with a large two finger sticky pillowey head that settled into a frothy mass after a longtime leaving a few broken "globs" of lace.Aromas are faint with mainly toasted oak and light vanilla,I was a little dissapointed with the nose.Flavors at first are dominated by toasted oak and vanilla, mild leafy hops come thru as it warmed a little as did the sweet alcohol.The hops are really subdued but it's got a nice feel,a great look, and decent flavors.

Tasty, densely flavorful brew, with plenty of more malts, smooth and satisfying and then a better then average wave of fresh, piney and citric hops, with a slight minty bite. Also a smooth and lasting vanilla/honey note. Hops not over the top, but providing a nice counter balance to the rich malts.

Poured into a goblet. Lovely dark amber-copper in colour, a half inch of fluffy head, recedes into a thin ring. Some lacing patches.

Nose is oak, caramel, citrus and earthy hops. Almost scotch-like.

Oak adds a unique character to this brew, which I quite enjoy. Opens with a strong blast of oak and lovely caramel, finishes with grain and earthy hops. A touch of citrus hops as well, and a hint of vanilla. Again, similar notes to a nice scotch on the sweeter end of the scale.

Carbonation carries the brew along well after the pour, and coats the tongue nicely.

Great brew, complex, nice use of the oak aging process. Will be back for this one again.

I have had this on tap at the Bryant Lake Bowl and in a craft beer glass poured from a 22 oz. Bottle.
A: Tea colored amber with a slight chill haze under a 2”pillowy off-white foam collar that produces thick lines of lace.
S: The bottle produces richer aromas than the tap version with earthy, citrusy hops over rich malts and a hint of bourbon.
T: The big caramelly malt flavors joined by the vanilla oak flavors and the big alcohol flavors accented by a dose of grapefruit rind bitterness evoke a bourbon based mixed drink.
F: Chewy, medium carbonation, warming, smooth and creamy.
O: A trifecta of big malt, big hops and big alcohol that goes down amazingly well.

Poured into a tulip; translucent darker reddish orange with a thick fluffy off-white head that doesn't fade at all. Lots of carbonation visible, and tons of sticky lacing. Smell is oak, nutty/spicy hops, bready malt, almost rye-like with the nuttiness. Some sweeter fruity notes, like golden raisins perhaps. Taste is sweet, clear malt at first, moving into nutty/spicy herbal and piney hops, mellowed by oak; then the alcohol heat comes and brings bread crust and bitter hop oils. The oak character gets more complex as it warms, revealing vanilla. Mouthfeel is slick and medium.
Overall this is a lovely complex DIPA. Being a year old, the hops have probably faded a bit, but I don't think they do that much. Lots of flavor in this beer regardless; it's a delicious sipping beer. Would be great with sharp cheese.

It looks like a beauty, a deep clear copper-red that forms a nice crown on top, thick and about 2 fingers high. The head remains as a thick layer of foam that never fades beyond that and laves a finger-thick ring of lacing then heavy patches the rest of the way down.
The smell gives up the oak, and there's no question it's barrel-aged. Overall it's lighter than I expected but not weak. It's very nice, actually, with the wood and vanilla melding with a pithy, leafy and lightly piney bitterness along with a bit of toast.
When I take a sip, things aren't quite as well put together as I got from the aroma. It's downright salty initially before that backs off and I get the wood, and it tastes like it was in barrels for 4 years. It gets extremely pithy going into the finish. I give it a moment and slower sips reveal a sweetness and, yes, it's got a nice vanilla note to it. In the finish, along with the pith, comes a somewhat cloying edge to the sweetness as well. It almost comes together but it never really loses the saltiness.
The feel is good, crispness light but present to set up a good, creamy smoothness in a clean medium body.

Poured from bomber into Brooklyn tulip. Pours a dark amber color, some cloudiness. Very dark colored for a Double IPA, I'm guessing from the wood it was aged in. Decent looking beer, but doesn't look like an IPA. Smell- Oak woodiness invades my nostrils, with some nice vanilla, caramel, and toffee notes. This is just so woody. Taste- astringent bitterness, pure sugar sweetness from the malt. The vanilla flavors are there, on the end. This is pretty one dimensional, not a lot of great flavors I was hoping for were there (tropical flavors were there last year: coconut, mango, etc). This is purely sweet, almost cloying, and the hops don't contribute a lot. I wanted more.

Grabbed a few bottles from Bottlecraft in San Diego. Incredibly well priced ($8) for an anniversary ale.

a- attractive dark red/amber, cream head. Looks great in a glass.

s- very inviting. hops jump out with a touch of caramel sweetness. one of those beers that really sets you up for its flavor.

t- wonderful. good hops balance, some malty sweetness (caramel/barley), with a great vanilla edge at the end. by the bottom of the bottle, the vanilla was really kicking in for me.

m- easy to drink, no hint of alcohol (great job with that) a tiny bit of softness from the oak.

o- i love red ipa's, and i love barleywines. this one seems to bridge that gap very well. i am curious about how long they age this beer- the hops still taste incredibly fresh, but there is a complexity that belies a youthful beer. love almost everything great divide brews- this one is one of their best.